About the location: Many food experts say that Morocco has the best cuisine in Africa, perhaps even in the top five of the world. From the narrow streets in the ancient medinas to the Berber villages down south, Morocco is a mysterious and alluring destination and should definitely be on your “must visit” list. While experiencing this diverse and yet culturally rich country, your senses will be stimulated; while learning, cooking, and tasting the flavorful tagines, salads and patisseries of Morocco.

About the lessons: This tour includes four cooking classes, each totally different in their styles; from cooking in a traditional dar (house), to cooking over the charcoal in the Berber village. Your classes will be taught by a number of different chefs, each with vast experience in Moroccan cuisine. Each of our teachers speaks fluent English and French, and their establishments are licensed by the government. After spending the days exploring Morocco, you will return to your accommodations (hotels or riads) for the evening.

Riads are beautifully restored houses, usually with a garden inside, that offer the perfect blend of luxury, comfort, and tradition. Where riads are not available, we have chosen high quality four and five star hotels. Seeing the country through the eyes of a Moroccan will open the doors into some of the secrets of the culture. Your driver/guide will accompany you for the entire tour and will escort you throughout the country and make your holiday memorable.

Moroccan cuisine is often considered one of the best in the world. It is known by a wide variety of dishes: couscous, tagines, pastilla and barbecue. Fez is said to be par excellence the gastronomic city of Morocco. Our chef invites you to share her passion and secrets in a friendly and warm atmosphere.

Provided in the main kitchen of the Riad, workshops are organized by groups of 2 to 4 people to ensure each participant a personalized welcome in a nice ambiance. The guests will learn how to prepare an appetizer, main course and dessert. They will begin with a visit of the souks with our chef and a guide to buy good and fresh products.

At the end of each session, the guests will taste the dishes they have prepared during a friendly lunch on the terrace overlooking the Medina or in the dining room of the Riad. A list of recipes dedicated by our chefs will be given at the end of the course to share a grain of Morocco at home, with family or friends.

The legendary restaurant at La Maison Arabe today offers cooking workshops designed for the amateur and professional alike.

The workshops are conducted by a dada (traditional Moroccan cook) or a chef from our Moroccan restaurant, and are held at the hotel. Small groups of maximum 10 participants work alongside a translator (Arabic/English/French), using easy-to-use modern equipment found in everyday kitchens. At the end of each workshop, participants dine on the meal they have prepared. At a typical half-day workshop, one learns to prepare an appetizer and a main dish, or a main dish and dessert. Details upon request.

Rates:
600 Dhs per person for small groups of 4 to 10 persons
800 Dhs per person for small groups of 1 to 3 persons
Private cooking workshop : 5.000 dhs

If you appreciate good food and would like to learn more about Moroccan cuisine (and show off at dinner parties back home), you are more than welcome in Atlas Kasbah’s learning kitchen., Our in-house Berber chef prepares the dishes she learned from her mother.

These recipes and their secrets have been passed on orally for generations, and this is what we are going to share with you. Cook (and eat) some of Morocco’s most traditional dishes: tajine, savoury and sweet pastillas, Moroccan pastries, delicious traditional bread and much more.

We offer daily cookery classes at both Riad Kaiss and Dar Les Cigognes. Working with one of our three dadas (traditional Moroccan women cooks) or with our head chef (formerly of the Café de la Poste), guests have the opportunity to enjoy the preparation of a dish, learning the techniques, how to use the ingredients. This is typically done ahead of dinner, but can also be designed to suit more specific requests, such as bread making, pastry making, how to make yoghurt, and so on.

We also offer guests the opportunity to join our head chef on his daily rounds of the markets to buy the day’s fresh foods in some of the most colourful markets in Marrakech. For those wishing a more profound introduction to Moroccan cookery, or wishing to learn to make something in particular, please do let us know ahead of time and we will endeavor to cater to your request.

Because we make everything we serve ourselves from scratch, guests are often happy to just watch, particularly when we make our pastries. Some even join in.

A number of professional chefs as well as the curious or passionate amateurs have enjoyed cooking with us over the years, and we hope you will too. If you would like to buy our cook book, you may find the paperback on Amazon.com, or the hardback on Amazon.co.uk.

This unique trip consistently gets overall trip ratings of 10 out of 10 and has been described as “the trip of a lifetime.” Join us and see why.

Journey to Morocco to experience a culture and cuisine that is at the crossroads of civilization, blending the most delectable Arabic, Berber, French and Spanish influences. On our Moroccan cooking tours you’ll head from vibrant Casablanca to the charming fishing town of Essaouira, relax in a tiny Berber village in the High Atlas mountains, and finally, explore extraordinary Marrakech, the most African of Morocco’s cities. Along the way you’ll learn to cook the local cuisine, bargain at souk (the fresh food market), tour the highlights of each area, and stay in stunning Moroccan riads.

INSTRUCTION

Thanks to the spectacular influences of the indigenous Berbers, Arabs, Spaniards and French, Moroccan cuisine is a feast for the senses. On our Moroccan culinary vacation you’ll learn about the tools of a Moroccan kitchen, most notably the Berber tajine, where ingredients are layered one upon the other to create a scrumptious stew, and about the exotic array of spices that contribute to the rich flavors. Our instructors will show us how to prepare and combine the ingredients, and then we’ll enjoy the end result as we sit down to enjoy our meal.

Our Moroccan culinary vacation includes cooking workshops to prepare the following meals:

– Mediterranean salad and fish tajine, using the fresh catch of the day
– Berber BBQ, using the produce you select at the local souk
– Berber salads, beef or lamb tajine, chicken tajine and fruit desert
– Scrumptious Berber crepes
– Moroccan soup and traditional Moroccan couscous.
– Lemon chicken, beef with prunes and almonds, and Moroccan desert

Note: These menu items are subject to change

ITINERARY

DAY 1: Arrive & Relax
Pick up from Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport airport and transfer to our hotel.

DAY 4: Explore Essaouira & Drive to High Atlas
Relaxing morning in Essaouira followed by a 3-4 hour drive to a Berber village in the High Atlas mountains. Enjoy tea with a local family. Stay in charming mountain riad.

DAY 8: Explore Marrakech
Full day to explore the Marrakech medina and souks, and the fascinating main square, Djemaa el-Fna. Stay in stylish riad in the medina.

DAY 9: Depart – Morocco Cooking Tour Ends
Drop off at Marrakech airport, transfer by private car to Casablanca airport, or stay on for Marrakech or Fez extensions.

Please note: This itinerary is designed to give you an idea of what to expect during our trip but is not set in stone. What we actually do on a given day is flexible and can be tailored to weather conditions and the interests of the group.

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